Goodreads asked Len Joy:

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Len Joy When I went to college many years ago, I though I wanted to be a writer so I became an English major. But in the second semester of my freshmen year after the professor eviscerated my paper on Thoreau, I decided I didn't have what it took to be a writer. Decades later on a whim, I took a writing course at the University of Chicago's Graham School. The instructor, Barbara Croft, was generous with her time and offered helpful criticism that encouraged instead of discouraged.

So I guess my advice is twofold: Don't be that kind who lets a few harsh comments derail your ambition; And don't be like that professor either. When you critique other people's work, be like Barbara.

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